When teachers behave badly‚ it's usually linked to them punishing their pupils‚ the South African Council for Educators (SACE) has revealed‚ but there are also growing incidents of sexual assault and even attacks on fellow teachers. SACE chief executive officer Rej Brijraj said most of the complaints the council receives against its teachers are accusations of corporal punishment‚ which is illegal in South Africa.Brijraj said the council was coming down hard on guilty teachers."Contrary to some perceptions‚ SACE is not lenient on teachers‚ or treating teachers with 'kid gloves' when they are in breach of the Code of Ethics. On the contrary‚ it takes very stern action when teachers are involved in sexual misconduct‚ corporal punishment or illicit activities."The second highest cause for complaint are alleged sexual offenses.In the past year‚ 593 complaints against teachers were processed by SACE. Seventy-seven of these resulted in hearings with 70 teachers being found guilty of ethical breaches.Twenty-five teachers were stuck off the roll indefinitely. "[They] will never teach again in any part of this country or any other countries with relationships with SACE‚" Brijraj said.Teachers found guilty in cases of sexual misconduct are usually struck from the roll indefinitely‚ he said.Also in the last year‚ five teachers were struck off the roll for definite periods‚ while 40 received other sanctions for their ethical misconduct.In the last quarter alone‚ 151 complaints were processed‚ leading to 17 hearings and 23 investigations‚ Brijraj said.SACE chief operations officer Matseliso Dipholo said that from April to November this year the council has received 50 sexual abuse complaints and 140 corporal punishment complaints thus far.She expects these figures to outstrip those for 2015 when the financial year ends in March.In the 2015/2016 financial year SACE received 97 sexual assault complaints and 267 corporal punishment complaints.What is particularly worrying are attacks by teachers on their colleagues‚ Dipholo said."There has been a sharp increase in assault against other teachers... up to the extent of stabbing each other." - TMG Digital..